Putin Praises Poland for Bravery in World War II - The New York Times The New York Times Europe |In a Visit, Putin Tries to Ease Rifts With Poland Search Continue reading the main story MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II, praised Polish soldiers and citizens on Tuesday for their wartime bravery, even as the Russian government unveiled what it said were previously classified documents showing prewar Polish cooperation with Nazi Germany. Mr. Putin’s remarks appeared aimed at dampening a row between Russia and Poland over each country’s role in the war, a dispute that grew heated in the weeks before the anniversary. “Russia has always respected the bravery and heroism of the Polish people, soldiers and officers, who stood up first against Nazism in 1939,” Mr. Putin said in a meeting with the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, in the Baltic Sea resort town of Sopot. Mr. Tusk said Mr. Putin’s visit reflected a growing spirit of cooperation despite lingering disagreements.

Continue reading the main story “Our meeting showed from the first minute that we are making another step toward strengthening confidence in the past so that we can build our future on it,” Mr. Tusk said in remarks translated into Russian on Mr. Putin’s Web site. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The relative warmth stood in contrast to Polish frustrations with the United States; Mr. Tusk has taken pains to play down the fact that President Obama was represented at the memorial ceremonies by his national security adviser, which many Poles saw as a snub. Poland’s traditionally close relations with Washington are already being tested by reports that the Obama administration is reviewing the Bush administration’s plan to deploy parts of its antiballistic missile shield in Poland, as well as the Czech Republic, two Eastern European states eager for the American presence, particularly as Russia has grown more aggressive internationally. Moscow has opposed having the missile shield in Eastern Europe. Mr. Putin’s remarks on Tuesday could have been intended to exploit Poland’s frustration with Washington to repair the Kremlin’s relationship with Warsaw .

Many in Poland are angered by what they see as Russia’s failure to acknowledge atrocities committed by the Soviet Union — including the massacre of Polish soldiers in the Katyn Forest and mass deportations — after its troops occupied eastern Poland weeks after the Nazis invaded the west of the country. Photo The two prime ministers walking along the pier in Sopot. Credit Alexei Druzhinin/Pool, via Reuters At a service attended by Mr. Putin in Gdansk on Tuesday, Poland’s president, Lech Kaczynski, remarking on the Soviet invasion, said Moscow had “stuck a knife in the back of Poland,” according to Agence France-Presse. Such sentiments have incensed many Russians, who view World War II and the victory over the Nazis as a paramount event in their history. By some estimates, about 25 million Soviet citizens died in the war, and many here believe those sacrifices were made to liberate Eastern Europe, not occupy it. About two-thirds of Russians think the Soviet Union could have defeated Nazi Germany alone, according to a recent poll of 1,600 people by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center that had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus about three percentage points.

Attempts by Poland and other former Communist bloc countries to equate Nazi crimes and Soviet actions during the war have prompted a Russian backlash. A documentary on Russian state television last week claimed that, in the 1930s, Poland conspired with Germany and Japan to invade the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, President Dmitri A. Medvedev has created a panel to fight what the government says are falsifications of history that harm Russia’s image. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy On Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service unveiled archival documents said to show Polish cooperation with Nazi Germany before the war and Polish attempts to sow discord among the Soviet Union’s ethnic nationalities. “Without a doubt, a portion of the blame for unleashing the Second World War lies with Poland, which is why they are attempting to distort historical fact,” Lev F. Sotskov of the Foreign Intelligence Service told reporters in Moscow. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Polish journalists challenged the documents’ authenticity, asking why the Russian government had waited decades to unveil them, only to do so during Mr. Putin’s visit.

For those who questioned if the documents were genuine, Mr. Sotskov said, “It’s their problem.” In Poland, however, Mr. Putin seemed to step back from historical debates, describing a shared failure to prevent “the bloodiest, most horrible war in the history of humanity.” “All attempts between 1934 and 1939 to make peace with the Nazis, signing various agreements and pacts, were from a moral point of view unacceptable and from a practical point of view pointless, harmful and dangerous,” he said at the Gdansk memorial service. “It is necessary to admit these mistakes, and our country has done this.” The remarks followed an article by Mr. Putin published on Monday in the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, which characterized the Nazi-Soviet pact to divide Poland at the outset of World War II in 1939 as immoral . Mr. Putin’s performance in Poland drew praise from many erstwhile critics of Russia, if not completely fulfilling Polish demands for Russian accountability. “This is a very important and very symbolic visit,” said Andrzej Halicki, chairman of the Polish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He said Mr.

Putin’s statements left him optimistic about the future of their countries’ relations, but added, “This would have been a good occasion to say ‘sorry.’ ” Judy Dempsey contributed reporting from Berlin. A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: In a Visit, Putin Tries To Ease Rifts With Poland. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Veterans mark 70th anniversary of World War II end - Delaware State News | Delaware State News Home News Veterans mark 70th anniversary of World War II end Veterans mark 70th anniversary of World War II end Sep 1st, 2015 · by Matt Bittle · Comments: DOVER — Seventy years ago today, the deadliest and most wide-ranging war in human history officially came to a close. On Sept. 2, 1945, six years and one day after Germany invaded Poland, World War II ended. Former Navy Cmdr. C.J. Bannowsky in the pilot’s seat. Tens of millions died during the conflict, and the war’s outcome continues to shape the modern world. After announcing their intention to surrender on Aug.

15, Japanese leaders signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept. 2. Delaware, despite its small size and population, like all the states played a role in the war. According to the Delaware Public Archives, about 33,000 Delawareans fought in the conflict. Wilmington’s chemical, manufacturing and shipbuilding industries were key to the war effort, while elsewhere in the state, farmers produced crops and chickens to feed troops. The Delaware National Guard’s 198th Coast Artillery Regiment was one of the first units to be sent overseas after the United States entered the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Fort DuPont was used as a military base and a camp for German prisoners of war. Towers were built along the coast to watch for enemy ships. A German submarine, U-858, surrendered at Lewes’ Fort Miles in 1945. Army veteran Louis Savini, pictured at his home in December, holds a photo of himself from decades ago. Some museums and monuments around the country will take part in celebrations today in honor of the anniversary.

The fighters While statistics and records share important details about the war, it’s the stories from participants that carry the most weight. The number of World War II veterans continues to shrink, but some who were directly involved continue to share their memories of the war. One of them is C.J. Bannowsky, a 29-year Navy veteran who was witness to history on multiple occasions during the conflict. Mr. Bannowsky, of Wilmington, was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked and, he said, for an “accidental” Japanese surrender a few weeks before that nation officially submitted. Inspired by men like Rear Admiral Richard Byrd and the aviator Charles Lindbergh, Mr. Bannowsky joined the Navy on his 18th birthday. A native Texan, he was sworn in standing by himself on a railroad platform in Houston in 1933. “I flew every plane that the Air Corps and the Navy had, every model of it,” he said. “So that was the absolute most wonderful thing that a pilot could do.” In 1941 he was stationed in Hawaii and returned there from a mission two days before the “date which will live in infamy” — the attack on Pearl Harbor.

During the war, he worked with Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., the elder brother of John F. Kennedy, and Ernest Lawrence, a scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart after saving his plane, which had been shot up by Japanese fighters, from crashing. Mr. Bannowsky, who achieved the rank of commander, opted to stay and try to save the plane instead of jumping out. “It was a pretty perilous situation,” his son Phillip said. “The pilot and the co-pilot are out the door and he’s about to go out the door after getting his parachute on and he saw these three crewmen still in there. They wouldn’t have got a chance to get out if he had jumped. “They wouldn’t have got their parachutes on … If he couldn’t have got it under control, he’d have gone down with them, put it that way. So he made quite a decision there to do it. “But he was that kind of a pilot. That if anybody could fly this plane, with all the canvas fabric shot off, he could. And he did.” Mr. Bannowsky was wounded by shrapnel after landing but made it safely.

Vivid memories In December, Army veteran Louis Savini, of Dover, told of his time in the war. He took part in the famous Battle of the Bulge, a last-gasp German offensive on the Western Front. Seventy years later, what he remembered most was the cold. “It was one of the coldest winters I ever experienced,” he told the Delaware State News last year. In April, paratrooper George Shenkle, of Lansdale, Pa., visited the Air Mobility Command Museum, site of the very plane he leapt out of over Normandy, France on D-Day. “Dwight Eisenhower’s words still bring shivers up and down my spine. ‘The eyes of the world are (upon) you’ … if that doesn’t make you feel important,” he said. In July, another soldier who jumped into Normandy on that day came to the Dover museum. Joe Morettini, of Erie, Pa., tried to join the military at age 17 but was denied by his father. Three months later, however, he was drafted. He made four jumps over a two-year period, carrying 50 pounds of supplies with him each time.

On D-Day, he was shot in the arm, but recovered. “Jumping is the easy part — it’s the landing that’s difficult,” Mr. Morettini said. “But coming down, I had never seen so many paratroopers at once. There were people everywhere and when I saw what was going on, I thought my life would be over.” He took part in an event at Normandy in 2014 for the anniversary of D-Day, where he met President Obama. “Veterans, we’re inclined to talk,” Mr. Morettini said. “We like to be asked to talk. I really do feel honored. I guess that everybody, as they get older, likes to feel they’re still alive and that someone still thinks that they are important.” ‘Everyone prays’ Marvin Skeath, a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, told of his experience in the Battle of Okinawa in an April interview with the Delaware State News. He dodged several near-death incidents during the conflict. “Everyone prays, and you wonder why this guy who prays as much as you did didn’t make it,” said Mr. Skeath, of Dover.

“It kind of shakes your faith and it’s very hard to understand.” His 4th Marine Regiment was selected to lead the occupying American force after the Japanese surrendered. The official end of the war brought jubilation. Mr. Savini was preparing to be sent from France to the Pacific in August 1945 before the war’s close. The announcement came as a relief to him. Mr. Bannowsky did not return home until April, thanks in part to a faulty engine on his plane. He settled in Delaware in the early 1960s, after a distinguished military career. Reflecting on his life as a member of the Greatest Generation, Mr. Bannowsky said with a chuckle, “I guess I’m lucky because I’m alive.” He was able to find a silver lining in every cloud during his time in the war. “I don’t know why, but you are occupied with what you’re doing and you suddenly don’t have any fear until it’s over,” he said.

Reach staff writer Matt Bittle at mbittle@newszap.com Subscribe to the Delaware State News daily email newsletter Delaware State News Daily Headlines Vladimir Putin condemns appeasement of Hitler on 70th anniversary of WW2 outbreak - Telegraph World War Two Vladimir Putin condemns appeasement of Hitler on 70th anniversary of WW2 outbreak Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, condemned the West's appeasement of Hitler as "morally unacceptable" in a speech in the Polish city of Gdansk during commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War. Russia's PM Putin makes a speech at Westerplatte, during ceremonies marking the anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Photo: Reuters By Matthew Day in Gdansk 7:00PM BST 01 Sep 2009 "All attempts to appease the Nazis between 1934 and 1939 through various agreements and pacts were morally unacceptable and politically senseless, harmful and dangerous," Mr Putin said. "We must admit these mistakes. Our country has done this. The Russian parliament has condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

We have a right to expect this from other countries that also agreed deals with the Nazis." Mr Putin's comments came as part of a heated argument between Poland and Russia over historical wounds that have overshadowed the solemn commemorations in Gdansk. As dawn came up over Westerplatte, the peninsula guarding city's harbour that saw the first shots of the war when its Polish garrison came under German attack at 4.45am on September 1, both Poland's president and prime minister used the high-profile platform to highlight national frustration over Russia's apparent unwillingness to accept and apologise for its role in the wartime destruction of Poland. In a bellicose attack, Mr Kaczynski, Poland's president, accused Russia of "stabbing Poland in the back" when it signed a non-aggression pact in 1939 with the Third Reich that allowed the two totalitarian dictatorships to divide Poland into their own fiefdoms.

Related Articles MI5 manhunt for dead Nazi 01 Sep 2009 Under the terms of the pact, on September 17 the Soviet Union invaded and annexed eastern Poland, subjecting the Polish population to the full horrors of Stalinist rule, including mass murder and ethnic cleansing: crimes, Poles believe, that Russia has never atoned for. Referring to the infamous 1940 Katyn massacre, when Stalin's secret police murdered 22,000 Polish officers and public officials, Lech Kaczynski, Poland's president, said although on a far smaller scale it had similarities to the Nazi's slaughter of European Jews. "What is the comparison between the Holocaust and Katyn? Jews died because they were Jews. Polish officers were killed because they were Polish officers," he said during the emotional dawn ceremony in which Poland paid homage to the Westerplatte defenders and 5.8 million of its citizens that died during the war.

In veiled references to recent Russian allegations that the Kremlin had no choice but to sign the pact with Hitler owing to possible Polish collusion with Germany, Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister said: "We meet here to remember who started the war, who the culprit was, who the executioner in the war was, and who was the victim of this aggression. "We meet here to remember this, because we Poles know that without this memory, honest memory about the truth, about the sources of World War II, Poland, Europe and the world will not be safe." Mr Putin's condemnation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pace, while a step in the right direction for some Poles, fell well short of the apology that many in Poland had hoped for as a means of putting the past behind the two countries. The spat between the two countries diverted attention from solemn ceremonies to commemorate mankind's bloodiest war. Leaders and dignitaries from 20 countries laid flowers and candles at the Westerplatte memorial in remembrance of the countless millions who died in the conflict. Angel Merkel, the German chancellor, recognised the role her country played in bringing death and destruction to so much of the world.

"Seventy years ago today the German invasion of Poland opened up the most tragic chapter in European history," she said in a speech. "The war unleashed by Germany resulted in immeasurable suffering to many peoples – years of deprivation of rights, of humiliation and destruction." Across Poland, a nation that has yet to fully recover from the effects of the war, the national flag fluttered from poles across the country, and newspapers dedicated pages and pages to a conflict that still colours the national character. BBC NEWS | Europe | Poland remembers World War start Poland remembers World War start Advertisement World leaders at wreath-laying ceremony in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of WWII Poland has been holding a day of commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Leaders from 20 countries laid candles during a ceremony near Gdansk. Earlier, Polish President Lech Kaczynski criticised the former Soviet Union over responsibility for the war. His words added to an ongoing row with Moscow, although Russian PM Vladimir Putin said he hoped the two countries could settle their differences.

Mr Kaczynski said Poland had received a "stab in the back" from the former Soviet Union when it invaded and occupied the east of the country as the German army was advancing westwards. He again criticised the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the early years of the conflict, saying it was about dividing Europe. ANALYSIS Jonny Dymond BBC News, Gdansk There was, of course, talk of heroism in the speeches of the Mayor of Gdansk, President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. But for Poland, perhaps more than any other nation on earth, World War II was nothing but a catastrophe. By the war's end, 5m-6m Poles had been killed - a greater proportion of its population than any other country. Mr Kaczynski recalled the Katyn massacre in which 20,000 Polish officers were killed by Soviet forces, saying it was an act of chauvinism and in revenge for Polish independence. But he also praised the Soviet Union's sacrifice against Nazi Germany.

Speaking at the ceremony on Westerplatte peninsula, Mr Putin highlighted that nearly half of the estimated 50 million people who died during the war were from the Soviet Union. The Russian prime minister said all pacts that European states agreed with Nazi Germany were "morally unacceptable", including the 1939 Soviet accord. He added that Russia accepted its mistakes of the past. Occupation Differing historical interpretations of events at the start of the war though have caused a strain in relations between Poland and Russia. Turning his attention to that controversy, Mr Putin said: "We seriously hope that Russian and Polish relationships will rid themselves of the layers of the past." Earlier, a dawn ceremony had marked the time when a German battleship fired the first shots on a Polish fort in 1939. Putin strikes conciliatory note with Poland The day began with Mr Kaczynski and his Prime Minister Donald Tusk joining war veterans beside a monument to the heroes of Westerplatte at 0445 (0245 GMT). The ceremony marked the exact time on 1 September 1939 when the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire at point-blank range on the fort.

At the same time, the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland from east, west and south. The attacks triggered Britain and France's declaration of war against Germany two days later. Just two weeks later, in mid-September 1939, the Soviet armies occupied eastern Poland. Speaking at the dawn ceremony, Mr Kaczynski said: "On 17 September... Poland received a stab in the back... This blow came from Bolshevik Russia." He added: "Glory to the heroes of Westerplatte, glory to all of the soldiers who fought in World War II against German Nazism, and against Bolshevik totalitarianism." In his address, Mr Tusk said the lessons of history should not be forgotten. "We remember because we know well that he who forgets, or he who falsifies history, and has power or will assume power will bring unhappiness again like 70 years ago," he said. At the time of the attack by the Schleswig-Holstein - which was moored in the Polish harbour on a friendship visit - Gdansk was known as the free city of Danzig. The 182 Polish troops defending the Polish fort were expected to resist for about 12 hours.

Despite coming under fire from the air, sea and land, they held out against a force of more than 3,000 Germans for seven days. According to a survey published on Monday, Westerplatte is the most important symbol of Polish resistance in the whole of the war. Two weeks after the German invasion, the Red Army invaded and annexed eastern Poland under terms agreed in the secret protocol of a Nazi-Soviet pact. Europe marks 70th anniversary of World War II - YouTube Europe marks 70th anniversary of World War II Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Sep 1, 2009 GDANSK, Poland - Leaders from both sides in World War II gathered on Tuesday for ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the start of history's bloodiest conflict in Europe, when a German ship fired on a Polish base on the Baltic.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both called for remembrance of the war so tragedy would not be repeated. "Our moral duty, the duty of all peoples, is to eternally cherish the memory," Putin said. "We all know that the horrors of World War II cannot be remedied," Merkel said. "The scars will be there forever. But to forge the future in an awareness of an everlasting responsibility - this is our mission." "Here on Westerplatte, I as German chancellor commemorate all the Poles who were subjected to unspeakable suffering through the German occupation," Merkel said. The chancellor also remembered the deaths of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, as well as the 60 million people who died as a result of World War II. She said it was a "miracle" that Europe had since become a continent of freedom and peace. Putin said "any cooperation with extremists ... no matter what motivation will be found for such cooperation, will result in tragedy," calling "senseless" the non-aggression pacts signed in Europe with Germany between 1934 and 1939.

"My country not only admits the errors and tragedies of the past, but makes a practical contribution to building the world on new principles," Putin said, saying society had to be cured of xenophobia, racism and mistrust. Speaking to the defenders of the Westerplatte peninsula and those who battled Nazis across Europe, Putin said, "Your exploit is eternal. It will always be kept in our hearts." Leaders from some 20 nations participated in the ceremonies, including the prime ministers of Ukraine, France and Sweden, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency. Earlier Tuesday, at sunrise, Polish leaders, veterans and the archbishop of Gdansk had gathered to commemorate the exact moment a Nazi battleship fired its first shots on the military garrison on September 1, 1939. "It was they who gave testimony of strength and heroism," President Lech Kaczynski said of the 180 Polish soldiers who for a week defended the fort against dive-bombing raids and naval artillery. "There is a question why Poles defended Westerplatte, why Poles did not make concessions [offered by Nazi Germany]," Kaczynski said. "...

In Poland, we do not know the notion of peace at any price." Westerplatte surrendered September 7, 1939, as the Nazis continued their attacks across the country. The Soviet Union invaded from the east 10 days later in accordance with the German-Soviet Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, in what Kaczynski called a "knife in the back." The ceremonies took place as the sun rose over the tall monument to the garrison's defenders, perched on a hill lined with wild roses and Polish flags. "This is the remembrance which we Poles do not want to use against anybody," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. "We remember because we know those who will forget or falsify their history will bring disaster again." There have been some tense moments recently in Poland's relations with Russia and Germany. One cause of conflict with Moscow was Poland's agreement to host an American missile shield on its soil in exchange for a pledge of military aid. Russia said the shield targets its nuclear arsenal despite US assurances that it is meant as protection against threats by countries like Iran.

As for Germany, some Poles expressed anger when Erika Steinbach, a federal deputy for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was up for nomination to a board of a slated museum about German refugees. Some Poles feared that Steinbach would demoniye Poles and show a pro-German bias by portraying Germans as the war's victims. It is the first time a senior Russian official has attended the war memorial ceremonies in Poland. ------------------ Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Category Moscow, Russia - Putin Calls Nazi-Soviet Pact Immoral Moscow, Russia - Putin Calls Nazi-Soviet Pact Immoral Published on: September 1, 2009 09:21 AM Save Article Poland&s prime minister Donald Tusk, left, spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir V. Putin as the two walked along a pier in Sopot, Poland, on Tuesday. Moscow, Russia - Prime Minister Vladimir V.

Putin, in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II on Tuesday, praised Polish soldiers and citizens for their bravery in the war, even as the Russian government unveiled what it said were previously classified documents showing Polish cooperation with Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the war. Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk, left, spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir V. Putin as the two walked along a pier in Sopot, Poland, on Tuesday. Mr. Putin’s conciliatory remarks appeared to be aimed at dampening a row between Russia and Poland over each country’s role in the war, a debate that grew heated in the weeks leading up to the war’s anniversary. Advertisement: “Russia has always respected the bravery and heroism of the Polish people, soldiers, and officers, who stood up first against Nazism in 1939,” Mr. Putin said in a meeting with his counterpart, Donald Tusk, in the port city of Gdansk. Mr. Tusk responded that relations between the two countries had never been better. “Our meeting showed from the first minute that we are making another step toward strengthening confidence in the past so that we can build our future on it,” Mr. Tusk said.

Many in Poland are angered by what they see as Russia’s failure to acknowledge atrocities committed by the Soviet Union after its troops occupied eastern Poland just weeks after the Nazis invaded. “They split Poland in two parts,” Andrzej Halicki, chairman of the Polish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said by telephone. “We were under occupation by Russians and by Germans.” Such sentiments have incensed the Russian government, which sees the Soviet Union’s role in World War II as that of liberator and not occupier. Recent attempts by Poland to equate Nazi atrocities during World War II to the actions of Soviet troops have prompted a backlash among Russian officials and in the media. Russia’s Foreign Security Service unveiled archival documents on Tuesday purporting to show Polish cooperation with Nazi Germany ahead of World War II as well as active Polish attempts to sew discord within the Soviet Union among ethnic nationalities to destabilize the country. “Without a doubt, a portion of the blame for unleashing the Second World War lies with Poland, which is why they are attempting to distort historical fact,” Lev F. Sotskov, a major general in the Foreign Security Service, said at a press conference in Moscow. In Poland, however, Mr. Putin seemed to step back from the debate.

“History is complex and is not painted just one color,” he said. “A lot of wrong steps were made in Europe, which eventually caused the tragedy,” he said. He had said as much in a lengthy article published on Monday in the Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, characterizing the Nazi-Soviet pact to divide Poland at the outset of World War II in 1939 as immoral, but he stressed that it was just one of a series of such deals that countries struck with the Nazis at that time. Mr. Putin called the nonaggression pact, which included secret amendments defining spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, “analogous” to the agreement by Britain and France a year earlier at Munich to accept the German invasion of Czechoslovakia. Mr. Putin released his historical interpretation on the eve of his visit to Poland for a commemoration of the start of World War II, 70 years ago this week. The pact — which was followed by German and Soviet invasions of Poland — remains a source of anger in Poland and the article heightened expectations of what Mr. Putin would say during his visit. Ria Novosti, an official Russian news agency, reported that Mr.

Putin would use the trip to counter what the Russians call efforts by Eastern Europeans to recast the causes and lessons of World War II. Russia looks upon the war as a searing event in its history, one in which, by some estimates, 25 million Soviet citizens died. In his article, Mr. Putin wrote that he was compelled to discuss the pact, named Molotov-Ribbentrop for the Soviet and Nazi foreign ministers who negotiated the accord, because it was being cited today by countries who have traced their postwar Soviet occupation to this agreement. “It is indicative that history is often slanted by those who actually apply double standards in modern politics,” he wrote. The article, posted in Russian on the Russian government Web site, did not backtrack on earlier Russian condemnations of the pact or apologies for the subsequent massacre of Polish officers at Katyn Forest. But it did highlight a theme that has been prominent on Russian state television in recent weeks: that even Poland was complicit in making deals with the Nazis. The article notes that the Polish Army occupied two provinces of Czechoslovakia at the same time the German Army invaded that country following the Munich agreement with France and Britain in 1938. Mr.

Putin argues that the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was inevitable after the Western allies had accepted the invasion of Czechoslovakia. He called that an effort by the West to “ ‘buy off’ Hitler and redirect his aggression to the east.” Stalin’s government, Mr. Putin wrote, signed the agreement because it was facing aggression in the east from Japan and did not want war on two fronts. Mr. Putin did not mention that the Nazi-Soviet pact also restored a portion of the Russian empire lost after World War I and coveted by Stalin. More of today's headlines “Israel - An ancient stone fragment with archaic Egyptian signs found at a dig near Lake Kinneret is the first of its kind to be found outside Egypt, archaeologists...” Israel - Ancient Egyptian Stone Fragment Found near Lake Kinneret “New York - Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been privately talking with friends about a possible comeback, and is considering a run for statewide office next...” Poland marks outbreak of World War Two | Europe | DW.COM | 01.09.2009 Europe Poland marks outbreak of World War Two Poland is marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

Speaking at the event, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 opened the "most tragic chapter" in European history. Merkel said Germany's invasion of Poland unleashed "immeasurable suffering" Speaking at Westerplatte, the site of a Polish base that saw the first battle with Nazi German troops in the early hours of September 1, 1939, Merkel said no country suffered from German occupation as much as Poland. "The war unleashed by Germany resulted in immeasurable suffering to many peoples - years of deprivation of rights, of humiliation and destruction," Merkel said. "I commemorate the six million Jews and all those others who suffered a brutal death in concentration and death camps. I commemorate the many millions of people who had to give up their lives resisting Germany," the chancellor said. Merkel was joined by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as well as the prime ministers of France, Italy, Ukraine and Sweden, which currently holds the European Union presidency. The US was represented by National Security Adviser James Jones. The German attack on Poland, at the Westerplatte peninsula, pitted 3,500 Germans against 180 Poles, who were able to defend their position for a week.

It was the start of a war that would eventually involve almost every nation on the planet, and claim some 50 million lives. The battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired on Poland At the pre-dawn ceremony on Westerplatte, off Gdansk harbor, Polish political and religious leaders recalled the sacrifices their countrymen made in the struggle against the overwhelming forces of Hitler's Germany. "Testimony to strength and heroism" "It was they who gave testimony of strength and heroism," Polish President Lech Kaczynski said of the Polish soldiers on Westerplatte, who were able to hold the fort for a week against dive-bombing raids and naval artillery. "There is a question why Poles defended Westerplatte, why Poles did not take concessions offered by Nazi Germany," Kaczynski said. "... In Poland, we do not know the notion of peace at any price." Also speaking at the pre-dawn ceremony, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: "We are here to remember who in that war was the aggressor and who was the victim, for without an honest memory neither Europe, nor Poland, nor the world will ever live in security." German infantry troops advanced into Poland on Sept.

6, 1939 Westerplatte surrendered on Sept. 7, 1939, as the Nazis continued their attacks across the country. The Soviet Union invaded from the east 10 days later in accordance with the Soviet-German Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a move that Kaczynski likened to a "knife in the back." "Westerplatte is a symbol of heroic resistance of those who are weaker against those who are stronger," Kaczynski said. "We Germans will never forget" Merkel also underlined Europe's post-war transformation from a "continent of terror and violence into a continent of freedom and peace." "That this was possible is nothing more and nothing less than a miracle," she said. "We Germans will never forget: Germany's partners in the east and the west have made this possible by their readiness to forgive. They stretched out the hand of forgiveness, and we took it, with thanks." sp/jen/dpa/AFP/AP BBC NEWS | Europe | Watching the start of World War II Watching the start of World War II By Adam Easton BBC News, Warsaw There are only a handful of people left who can say they saw World War II start.

The Schleswig-Holstein unleashed a barrage of shells at a Polish fort Few survive to tell the tale of the German battleship, Schleswig-Holstein, unleashing a barrage of 280mm and 170mm shells at a Polish fort and shattering the dawn breaking over the Westerplatte peninsula in the free city of Danzig on 1 September 1939. "I took the telescope and looked out at the channel, first right, then left and then at the cruiser which was moored in the bay," Ignacy Skowron remembered. "At that moment I saw a flash of red and the first shell hit the gate," The attack began at 0445. Simultaneously, the German Wehrmacht poured across the frontier of Poland from the west, north and south. Two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany. The then 24-year-old Cpl Skowron was one of just 182 Polish soldiers defending the military transit depot on the Westerplatte peninsula. "I grabbed a machine gun," said Mr Skowron. "We got the order and we started to fight back.

The cruiser then sailed into the channel and started to fire shell after shell at us. I saw huge trees being snapped in two." "On the second day there were three attacks before midday. We fought back and then later we heard some noise and there were planes overhead. "They started to dive-bomb us and guardhouse number five was completely destroyed. Five soldiers were killed." Cold, hungry, dirty After the dust lifted, the Germans were amazed to see anyone still alive. The fighting lasted for seven days. The Germans saw that their attacks weren't working so they used flamethrowers to try and overcome us with flames Ignacy Skowron "The Germans saw that their attacks weren't working so they used flame-throwers to try and overcome us with flames. By the sixth day we were barely managing to survive because we were cold, hungry, dirty, and we hadn't slept. We were struggling," Mr Skowron said. At the end the German commander, Gen Friedrich Eberhardt, allowed the Polish commander, Maj Sucharski, to keep his ceremonial sabre. "The German told him that if he had such an army he could fight the whole world," recalled Mr Skowron.

Out of perhaps 3,400 German troops, between 200 and 400 were killed in the battle. Of the Poles, between 15 and 20 were killed. Mr Skowron, now 94-years-old, was marking the start of the war at a small concrete community centre in the outskirts of his home town of Kielce, in southern Poland. Westerplatte is particularly important here because many soldiers from the town's Fourth Infantry regiment fought in the battle. During the ceremony veterans, serving soldiers and residents ate cake and fruit while a choir sang war standards. A group of young people dressed in period uniforms marched in with the Polish standard. People take the war seriously here. Painful memories World War II caused enormous destruction and suffering in Poland. Close to six million Polish citizens - half of them Jews - were killed and its cities were left in ruins. A choir sang war standards for a crowd of veterans, serving soldiers and locals In proportion to its size, Poland suffered more damage and casualties than any other country. The war still causes painful memories but it also provokes great pride, the historian professor Pawel Machcewicz - an advisor to the Polish prime minister - told me.

"Westerplatte is the most important, the most recognisable symbol of Polish heroism and Polish resistance," he said. "This was an isolated post with 200 Polish soldiers. Their duty was to resist for 12 hours and they resisted for seven days against an overwhelming German army." Mr Skowron hopes to attend the ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the start of the war in Westerplatte. He was awarded the Order Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration for his services. I asked him if he thought of himself as a hero. "You have to help people," he replied. "When my friends were fighting I had to fight too. I have sad memories. We didn't think we would get out of there alive. We were like a bird in a cage." Bookmark with:

Question: Tuesday saw the 70th anniversary of the start of WWII when Germany invaded what country?
Answer: Poland